Hansa definitions

orHansenounEtymology:Hansa from Medieval Latin, from Middle Low German hanse; Hanse from Middle English Hanze, from Anglo-French hanse, from Middle Low German Date: 15th century 1. a league originally constituted of merchants of various free German cities dealing abroad in the medieval period and later of the cities themselves and organized to secure greater safety and privileges in trading 2. a medieval merchant guild or trading association • Hanseaticnoun or adjective

Hanse Hanse, n. [G. hanse, or F. hanse (from German), OHG. & Goth. hansa; akin to AS. h?s band, troop.] An association; a league or confederacy. Hanse towns (Hist.), certain commercial cities in Germany which associated themselves for the protection and enlarging of their commerce. The confederacy, called also Hansa and Hanseatic league, held its first diet in 1260, and was maintained for nearly four hundred years. At one time the league comprised eighty-five cities. Its remnants, L["u]beck, Hamburg, and Bremen, are free cities, and are still frequently called Hanse towns.